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Inspiration

Written goals do shape lives

Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which

we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act.
There is no other route to success. – Pablo Picasso

ur lives are filled with goals. Whether inten- Empowering results
tionally thought out or in the midst of our
everyday life, we are constantly creating goals On my way to the 2018 Western States Acquirers show I
O for ourselves. Not only do we plan out our started a conversation with my seatmate on the airplane.
careers by deciding to complete college, we also set small I related this story, and she shared a story with me. From
goals for ourselves: I really need to finish the laundry or the time she was in junior high school she was fascinated
mow the lawn, for example. with computers, numbers and data. She had a three-part
goal which she wrote down:
Each of these goals is important to us in different ways. 1. Manage a large data center
Setting a goal to get out of bed and take 10 steps for most of
us seems like a waste of our time, but for a cancer patient, 2. Have at least five employees under her
this goal may seem like a mountain to climb. Only the
individual may determine the importance of a goal. 3. Work in a corner office with floor to ceiling windows
A potent practice She then told me that out of high school, she went to

So how do we prioritize and keep our major goals at the work for a large data company and was soon promoted to
forefront of our thoughts and actions? The answer for all manager of her group of 15 employees. At this time, she
of us may be different, but as for me, I write them down. was still working in the company's cubicle farm. After a
Putting thoughts and ideas to paper solidifies them in my year of this, her boss was so pleased with her performance
mind. that he moved her into her own office, and much to her
surprise it was a corner office—with floor to ceiling
When I was in high school, I was one of the students windows.
putting together the school yearbook. Each year we
invited the seniors to write down their aspirations. When Keeping thoughts in focus is key to achieving your goals.
I was asked to provide my future dream I simply stated, Write them down, tell them to the world, and hold yourself
"I want to own and run a magazine." I was so interested accountable and you can climb any mountain.
in the workings of putting together the yearbook for my
school that I decided I wanted to make a life of it.

I went to university as a journalism major. I studied
business organizations and processes. After many jobs
in various fields, I finally ended up working for Paul
Green and running his magazine, The Green Sheet. In 2014, Kate Gillespie, President and CEO
I purchased The Green Sheet. Although it had taken 36
years, I had achieved one of my major goals.

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